Pop Top Dot

ABSTRACT

The Pop Top Dot, simply put, in terms of the basic technical disclosure, is a small semi-soft ball attached to the underside of the pull-lever on any “stay-tab”, pull-top system of can opening. The underside of the lever tends to pinch, or dig under the nail, so the soft nature of the Pop Top Dot will address this. The stay-tab opening system is most often associated with canned beverages, but this lever system and tab are used on many canned items, the Pop Top Dot precisely where the fingertip contacts the tab when opening the container. The Pop Top Dot is either an extension of the tab, a metal aluminum alloy sphere as a manufactured part of the lever, cast and then coated with a soft material, or it&#39;s a cushioned sphere attached to the lever with a bonding agent of some kind.

In 1975 Mr. Daniel F. Cudzik invented the stay-tab beverage can openingsystem, this lever system became the standard opening system found oncanned beverages. The invention devised by Mr. Cudzik, eliminated therisks associated with a person cut by the razor sharp pull-tabs, andalso addressed the nuisance associated with the refuse generated bythese tabs. I, Marc Reuben Schlosser, as a past food and beverageprofessional, with more than 35 years of experience, have been regularlyirritated by the predictable pain associated with opening cannedbeverages. The lever will dig under your fingernail, or pinch thefingertip, after many cans, it became more than a minor nuisance. I MarcReuben Schlosser, have invented a non-obvious improvement to thestay-tab lever system that addresses this problem, and alleviates thepain associated with opening a can. A Pop-Top-Dot is considered a foodand beverage apparatus, and falls under the U.S. patent classification099. FIG. 1(a) is the underside view of a stay-tap lever, showingseveral Pop Top Dots.

FIG. 1(a) is the underside view of a stay-tap lever, showing a singlePop Top Dot.

FIG. 1(b) is the underside view of a stay-tab lever, showing several PopTop Dots.

FIG. 1(c) is a side view of the top of a can, and the stay-tab lever inthe stationary position.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the top of a can, the initiation of an openingwith a Pop Top Dot

FIG. 3 Shows the opening midway

FIG. 4 Shows the completion of an opening and pull on the stay-tab leverwith a Pop Top Dot cushion.

1. The Pop-Top-Dot is attached to the underside of the stay-tab lever,directly where the fingertip makes contact with the lever, and consistsof a small, semi-soft sphere, or series of spheres, that cushion thefingertip, and also act as a small brace, elevating the stay-tab leverroughly 3/16th of an inch above the surface of the can, allowing accesswithout a pinch. The slightly elevated tab is well below the outer rimof the can. A Pop-Top-Dot is a semi-soft sphere adhered to the lever, ora spherical extension of the aluminum alloy found in the lever, analuminum sphere coated with a semi-soft rubberized material. This is asubtle improvement to the stay-tab system that will reveal the old wayof opening cans, the tab digging under a nail, or wincing for the pinch,or simply seeking out a spoon to pry it open.